Sense of Belonging at Valby Idrætspark

Københavns Kommune partnered with CIID students, to try to understand what role Valby Idrætspark can play for the residents of Valby and greater Copenhagen, and how it can become a melting pot for sports and culture. The goal was to discover opportunities for interactions, interventions and services that could transform the Valby Idraetspark buildings, facilities and clubs into a more seamless experience.

Research Objective

Based on data shared by the Kommune, the decision was made to explore how each user group and demographics perceive and use the park and how the dynamics between them affect their individual experience of the park.

Methods and Framework

Guerrilla research was conducted at both Valby Idrætspark and an analogous location as well as in depth interviews with users. Several tools were used as prompts to provoke conversations about the users’ perception of the park and the people with whom they interacted when there.

All the research data was then organized and grouped by themes, moving on to a more analytical phase where a variety of key insights were uncovered, leading to the following design challenge:

“How can we make the Teams and Clubs feel more like they have a home at Valby Idrætspark without creating an individual space for each of them?”

The whole class came together once more and each team facilitated a brainstorming and ideation workshop where hundreds of ideas were generated. These were then developed by each group into 3 original concepts that aimed to tackle the challenge that was previously set – improving the communication between the sports teams, the common spaces at the park and adding a personalized human-touch to an otherwise big and unwelcoming space.